Still Got It
by Elle Knight
Summary: Lloyd tests his observation skills, helps a stranger and opens up just a little bit more to Julianne.


"You're hiding; secluding yourself back here. Why are you doing that?" His eyes narrowed. "Boss seems nice enough."

She cleared her throat,

"Excuse me?" The girl stepped forward, attention turning from the stacks of files in the darkened back room.

Lloyd leaned against the door frame, hands in his pockets. This was only one of a handful of recent ventures in his new crusade of selflessness. He nearly rolled his eyes at himself.

"Having a bad day?" The question hung in the air as the girl's facial expression changed from anger to something resembling alarm.

"Who _told _you that?" Lloyd resisted the urge to raise his eyebrows at the young woman in front of him.

"Your body language did." Then there was a withdrawing, a silence that Lloyd knew too well. "No one asks you about that, do they?"

The files that had been piling up in the girl's arms were returned to the shelf for the moment. In a few easy steps, she stood in front of Lloyd, arms crossed.

"Yes, I am, and why does-"

"Lloyd Lowery," he filled in for her.

"Lloyd Lowery," she echoed, "want to know?"

"Just observing. It's what I do. Was walking past and saw you back here. Merely some loose thoughts spoken out loud. Don't mind me." He smiled. "I'll leave you to your work."

Lloyd turned to go, but a soft touch on his right shoulder stopped him.

"Rachel." The girl stated simply.

"Your name?" Lloyd questioned, knowing it was invariably a stupid one.

She shook her head in the affirmative and gave him a sweeping look from head to toe. Without another word, she retreated to the filing shelves and picked up her load once again. Distancing, Lloyd made a mental note. What had deflated her bravery and forced her to retreat to her comfort zone?

"I didn't mean to –" He found himself beginning to apologize.

"You didn't," she interjected. "It's just…weird."

"What is?" He had to remind himself not to probe. It's not like he was playing a game, just seeing if he still had what it took to be a good doctor. That was all.

"That you can look at me and just read me."

He chuckled lightly,

"Most people don't like that. It's a fact of life. We hide our secrets and even our truths from each other. Everyone wears a mask, and everyone lies to each other." He paused for a moment, waiting for his words to sink in before proceeding. "What are you lying about?"

Rachel's gaze wandered downwards, focused towards her feet. When she lifted her head, she was biting the side of her lip, a clear sign of being unsure; not quite confident she could get the words out.

"My boss…" She trailed off, collecting herself and moving on. "He seems nice enough, yeah. He is, he is. Don't get me wrong."

"But?" Lloyd helped her along.

"But…" Then, her gaze was completely leveled with his, brown eyes shining in absolute trust for one single moment. "He has a wife, and I don't want to interfere with that."

"Oh," Lloyd breathed. "You're hiding."

"Ummm, yes. Like a child, really." There was no humor in her tone.

"Yes and no," he told her. "That's an instinct ingrained in us from childhood, but it doesn't lack the maturity that you're implying. No. It's a defense mechanism. It may be largely ineffective in the long run, but it seems to be working for you now."

"I can't hide in a file closet forever," Rachel reasoned.

"Right you are. You need a solution to this undeniable problem you seem to be facing. The question is what are you going to do about it?"

"I was hoping you could tell me."

"Unfortunately, I don't have all the answers, but I think I can give you a small suggestion. You have to make it seem like his wife's very much in danger of finding out. Leave a little something in his suit jacket, in his briefcase. Just a little something that will make his wife suspicious." Lloyd stopped to once again look the girl over. "Your boss is pushy, but not that pushy. He'll stop. You can move on with your life."

Rachel gave him a small smile, stepping forward once again,

"Thank you. I'll be brave."

Lloyd smiled back, and ducked back through the doorway to find his colleagues.

"You'll be okay," he called over his shoulder.

He didn't care if Ray and Charlie chewed him out for lagging behind. Lloyd felt a strange, uplifted feeling, something that he hadn't sensed in a long time.

Later on, he found himself hunched over the latest case file, Julianne calling out to him if he wanted a coffee. He looked up at her, studying her features in the dusky light.

"I did something…good today," he wiped a hand over his face subconsciously. With Julianne, he knew you had to give a little to get a little. She was making leaps and bounds in the progress with her anxiety. He didn't want the ball to stop rolling.

"Like what?" Julianne's head tilted in curiosity.

"Helped…someone."

Julianne set down his coffee, wordlessly. Then, in one jerky, hesitant motion she put a hand on Lloyd's shoulder. Slowly, as to not alarm her, he put a hand over her smaller one.

"Thank you, Julianne."

After a moment, she walked back to her desk and was soon buried behind her cocoon of messy files and incomplete reports. Lloyd gave her a fleeting glance, and turned his focus back to the work at hand.

He'd take this new freedom thing one day at a time, and maybe continuing to offer some free advice along the way. Sometimes after all of his time incarcerated, unable to stretch his intellectual wings, it was comforting to know that he still had it.


End file.
